Veteran Headstone or Grave Marker Medallion

Sharing from "The Mirror" Newspapers - "Volunteers Update Records for Swan Creek Cemetery" by Karen Gerhardinger

This is a wonderful story about the work of the Lucas County Cemeteries Historical Association volunteers who documented burials at the Swan Creek Cemetery in Moncolva Township, Lucas County, Ohio.  It is the oldest cemetery in the township with over 2,000 burials. 

This news report delves into the minute details of the extensive research conducted to gather information about those buried at this almost 200 year old cemetery.  The endeavor took several months to complete and the results are astounding!  

The point-by-point account leads the reader to be inspired as well as in awe of the dedication of the volunteers who participated in this worthy project. 

Sharing this new video by Jonathan Appell - Atlas Preservation - Cleaning a Monument with D/2 Biological Solution

The Fairfield County, Ohio W.P.A. Cemetery Plat Maps have been posted on the right sidebar of the blog

     The W.P.A. Cemetery Plat Maps for Fairfield County have been added to the listing on the right sidebar of the blog.  

These W.P.A. Cemetery Plat Maps basically follow the same format set up for those in other Ohio counties. 

 Note, some townships with several cemeteries are not listed by their names in the Album Title because the "Flickr" software program limits the title length.  This is particularly true for the album entitled "Multiple Townships - Smaller Cemeteries” which has the most cemeteries.  Thus, the reader is directed to refer to the “Album Description for the cemetery names listed by page number”.  They are listed by their page number, ranging from low to high, with any unknown pages in the beginning.

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 Sharing the main link to the Lancaster website for the city’s cemeteries.:

https://www.ci.lancaster.oh.us/151/Cemetery

Note that the W.P.A. Cemetery Plat Maps for Forest Rose Cemetery, Elmwood Cemetery, as well as for the Crestview Mausoleum show "Lancaster Township".  The cemeteries and mausoleum are now managed and maintained by the City of Lancaster. 

Information from the Fairfield County, Auditor's website.:

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Of particular interest are six cemeteries with handwritten explanatory notes by the cemetery's name inside the "History Box" that the bodies have been removed and relocated or similar notations.:

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Please note also in the lower right corner of the Fairfield County Cemetery Index are names of veterans whose burial locations could not be identified.:

Critchfield, Joshua - Hocking Township - Cemetery Unknown.

Fisher, John -Township & Cemetery Unknown

Reynolds, John - Township & Cemetery Unknown

Runnels, John - Clear Creek Township - Cemetery Unknown

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These cemetery plat maps were indeed quite interesting to research and compile into this collection.  

Hopefully they will aid those interested in learning more about the locations of veterans buried in Fairfield County, Ohio cemeteries. 

Lay Me Down to Rest: Ep. 55 Kunkle Cemetery - Williams County, Ohio presented by the Williams County, Ohio Public Library

Sharing the latest episode of "Lay Me Down to Rest" spotlighting the  Kunkle Cemetery in Williams County, Ohio presented by the Williams County Public Library.

The most recent news announcements from "Find a Grave" are ones to take note of - Transfer of Memorials / Request to Manage AND Memorials for the Recently Deceased - Also, choosing your close relationship

There have been some recent changes announced by "Find a Grave"; a familiar website to its vast number of contributors and researchers alike who rely on it for information perhaps not found anywhere else on the Internet.  

Someone's interest may lie beyond only needing to find the location of a gravesite to the excitement of seeing for the first time an ancestor's grave marker thanks to a dedicated Find A Grave photo volunteer who honored a photo request.  By the way, please don't forget to send your "thank you note" to whomever fulfilled your photo request so they are aware of your appreciation of their time and efforts extended on your behalf.
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If you are new to using Find a Grave and/or primarily utilize it to upload memorials without spending time browsing around its links on the main page, you may not be aware of all of the information the website provides.  

Focusing here on the link for Find a Grave News. January 11, 2022 contains two impactful news announcements that are important to read and review. 

One is titled "Transferring Memorials"that includes a link to the "Help Page" taking you to the "Request to Manage" page. 

This page on Find a Grave offers a discussion of the details of this topic with specific links for the contents.  

Among the information is a paragraph providing the Find a Grave email address of support@findagrave.com which is good to be aware of if further help is required.
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The other January 11, 2022 announcement concerns "Memorials for the Recently Deceased". 

The changes became effective January 11, 2022 applying to Find a Grave memorials added after that date.

The sub-categories are: 

"Memorials by a Relative",
and
"Memorials Managed by Someone who is Not a Relative"
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Tying in with these changes is the ability to show your close relationship to the relative or ancestor that will display on their Find a Grave memorial. 

Sharing screen captures of my father's memorial to help illustrate the process to show your close relationship.: 

First click on the down arrow to the right of the EDIT button shown with a dark gray background and white letters.:

Next, click on "Edit Memorial" that appears as the top choice.:

Scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page where you see "Are you a close relative?" 

There you will see your choices of: 

Spouse/Partner; Child; Parent; Grandchild; Grandparent; Sibling; Aunt/Uncle; Niece/Nephew; or Cousin.  

**Remember what you choose is to denote your  relationship to the deceased.**

In my example, I am the child of the deceased person for whom this Find A Grave memorial was created so I clicked on "Child" as my choice. 

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For a further in-depth look at the finer points of these changes, here is a link to a January 11, 2022 You Tube video posted by nationally known genealogist Amy Johnson Crow.:

"A MAJOR Update to FindAGrave - 2022 - What You Need to Know"- 2022 -  "Genealogy with Amy Johnson Crow" .
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W.P.A. research continues by examining the "The Ohio Guide"

Over the past year or so there have been blog posts here featuring links to the Ohio W.P.A. Cemetery Plat map collections shared on "Flickr" for various counties. 

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These types of maps can be a "gold mine" of information for those who are researching burial locations of veterans who served from the Revolutionary War up to and including 

World War I.  

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Spotlighted also have been individual Veterans Graves Registration cards.  These records are not as difficult to find.  

Most of the time county recorder's offices in Ohio have them; or they have had them placed in a county archive. 

Either way, there may be a small charge to obtain a copy of one. 

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We have learned about the Defiance County and to a lesser extent the Champaign County Ohio Writer's Project / Historical Records Survey descriptions of cemeteries which are proving to be an even more elusive type of record produced by the W.P.A.  

It is hoped that more Ohio county W.P.A. Cemetery Plat Maps come to light and be posted on the Internet free for anyone to access.
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Now we come down to examining another W.P.A. document that is actually a comprehensive publication called "The Ohio Guide" .  

The good thing is that you can "Google it" and find dozens of references to it!  

Even better you can access it via the website.: "FamilySearch", view it there, and download it to your computer or other device.

Co-incidentally, when I started this blog post in the final days of December 2021, I happened upon an article published in the Cleveland "Plain Dealer" on December 30, 2021 in the newspaper's "Travel Section" by Robert L. Smith, special to the "Plain Dealer".: 

 "Revisiting 'The Ohio Guide', the Depression era handbook highlighting top spots in the Buckeye State." 

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"The Ohio Guide" was part of the "American Guide Series" that came under the WPA Federal Writers' Project.
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The Campbell Library at Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey has an extensive history on this subject posted online. 

The results of conducting a word search for the word "cemetery" in the online version of "The Ohio Guide" produced 44 "hits".  An interesting one appears on Page 125 for Otis C. Pratt who was buried at the Greenwood Cemetery in Wellington, Lorain County, Ohio.:

Photograph courtesy of  Mr. Al Leiby

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So, happy hunting for "The Ohio Guide" by the Works Progress Administration - originally published by the University Press, Oxford, New York in 1940.